A Stubborn Question

As the sunflower waits for the Sun to rise,

And follows it all through its journey,

All the way until it sinks back into the horizon,

The child in me joins the ones with me,

Gazing in awe

What a lovely creation,

The glowing yellow with spray of black Bindi,

As it comes to life, soft and sublime,
Submitting to the regal sun,

As I close my eyes to  seal the moment,

A queer thought also gets sealed in my heart,

Is sunflower the reason the Sun's so adorable? 

As odes are composed,
Tributes paid,
On Teachers' Day,
And their role celebrated,
Faces flash by from memories,
Those that sowed the seeds,
And chiseled, polished, to get the shine in you,
As you flipped the pages
It didn't matter where memory ended and stories came alive.
As frames kept tossing on in my mind,
A stubborn question wouldn't let me sleep -
Would Drona still have  made it to the lofty heights,
Had it not been for Ekalavya's sacrifice?

As the Gods are worshipped
And Hymns and Bhajans chanted,
Praising the Lord,
His blessings, and the miracles,
God, you must be great
To have created the creation,
Day, night, smile and tears,
Love, hate, greed, and man,
But God, you must answer me -
Were you as grand,
Before your devotees commanded 'hail the Lord!'

Tell me God,

Who came first - you or the creation!

© Sashikant Mohanty